A London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, with 242 passengers on board. The aircraft was seen flying low over a residential area before crashing in Meghani Nagar, a densely populated neighborhood near the airport, and bursting into flames.
Communication with the flight was lost shortly after departure, according to Sky News and Flightradar24. Thick smoke rising from the crash site alerted authorities, and first responders arrived within seconds.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu stated he is personally monitoring the situation. “Rescue teams have been mobilized. All efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support,” he said.
Initial police reports indicated no survivors, but Ahmedabad police commissioner G.S. Malik later said survivors might still be found. Among them is Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, who reportedly escaped and spoke with locals after the crash.
A local doctor named Krishna said the crash destroyed a residential building housing doctors’ families, with the plane’s nose and front wheel striking a student canteen during lunchtime.
Gatwick Airport confirmed the flight, AI171, was scheduled to land in London at 18:25. Aviation specialist Julian Bray called it “a major incident” and noted that the Dreamliner is a state-of-the-art aircraft, though he did not rule out security issues.
Jason Knight, a fluid mechanics expert, speculated that the likely cause was a double engine failure, possibly due to a bird strike, which is rare but catastrophic when it affects both engines.
